CHICAGO -- Will Warren had spent the better part of two weeks searching for something that, in his mind, had quietly disappeared.
Not velocity. Not movement. Just the freedom to pitch.
By Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, it was back.
“I think I had fun today for the first time in a long time,” Warren said.
That freedom showed up everywhere. In the confidence to throw a career-high 24 changeups. In the willingness to attack the strike zone. In the pace that barely gave the Cubs a chance to settle in.
The result was one of the finest outings of Warren’s young career, leading the Yankees (62-48) to a crisp 2-0 victory over the Cubs and extending what has quietly become one of baseball’s most dominant stretches by a starting rotation.
Warren scattered four hits across 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven without issuing a walk to earn his eighth victory of the season. The outing marked the longest scoreless start of his career and his second-longest outing of the year, while continuing a remarkable run from New York’s rotation.
Over the Yankees’ past nine games, their starters have allowed one run or fewer seven times.
For a club whose offense has struggled to consistently support them -- a point manager Aaron Boone hammered home after Thursday’s 11-inning loss on the South Side -- the rotation has become its foundation.
“They’re all really good and really confident,” Boone said. “It’s a tight group. The pitching group is super diligent in what they do. I think they all really support each other and want to help each other and want to see each other be successful. That’s been much of the story of the year for us. Our starting pitching has been excellent.”
Warren’s contribution might have been the most encouraging yet.
Five days earlier against the Phillies, the right-hander endured the shortest start of his season, allowing six runs in just three innings. Instead of trying to overpower hitters Friday, he leaned into what has made him successful all season.
The changeup became the star of the afternoon.
Boone called the pitch “huge,” praising both the game plan and Warren’s execution.
“The secondary stuff was where it was at for him today,” Boone said. “He did such a good job spinning the ball, throwing the changeup, then using the fastball enough to keep them honest. That’s what he’s capable of when he’s on his game.”
The Cubs agreed.
“I think it was just a pitcher kind of at his peak, doing all the things that he is really good at,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He was able to throw offspeed whenever he wanted. His fastball was well-located in big counts. He pitched a good game.”
The Cubs’ Ian Happ saw the same thing from the batter’s box.
“He threw his offspeed stuff for a strike early in counts and just did a good job of keeping us off-balance,” Happ said. “It must have been a big part of their game plan.”
It was.
Warren repeatedly buried changeups beneath left-handed hitters’ barrels, inducing awkward swings and soft contact throughout the afternoon. When Chicago adjusted, he elevated his fastball to finish at-bats.
“Coming in, I felt like I got away from it,” Warren said of his secondary pitches. “Just going back to who I am and throwing nasty stuff up there, honestly. Throwing it for strikes and trying to get them swinging at stuff they might not necessarily want to.”
Perhaps more important than the pitch selection was Warren’s mindset. As the rough outings accumulated, so did the pressure. Every pitch began carrying extra weight. Friday felt different.
“At the beginning of the year, that was kind of how I approached every day,” Warren said. “Then you start struggling a little bit and hanging on every pitch, wondering what’s going to happen next.
“Today I just went out there and whatever happens, happens. I’m going to have fun.”
The Yankees still didn’t generate much offense, collecting only four hits all afternoon. Fortunately for them, two left the yard.
Amed Rosario broke up Shota Imanaga’s perfect game with a Statcast-projected 450-foot blast to center with two outs in the fourth inning. Spencer Jones added a Statcast-projected 418-foot laser into the right-center-field bleachers one inning later.
On a day when two swings proved enough, the bigger story once again belonged to the mound.
The Yankees recorded their 11th shutout of the season, won for the 12th time in 18 games and claimed another series opener behind a rotation that continues to carry October expectations one start at a time.